


Lies and Lost Chances

by littledemon66



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst and Feels, Character Death, Heavy Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-18
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-11-24 01:55:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18159944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littledemon66/pseuds/littledemon66
Summary: When the paladins go out to a reported weak spot, they soon realize that they were being ambushed. Keith and Allura take more than their fair share of responsibility and puts themselves in danger. On top of that, Haggar threatens to hurt Lance's beloved. It's up to Lance to go for a rescue and make sure everyone is safe.Easier said than done...





	Lies and Lost Chances

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Haggar's Lie comes True](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15898398) by [SherbetLemon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SherbetLemon/pseuds/SherbetLemon). 



> I'd like to thank SherbertLemon for letting me use their idea. I asked if I could use their idea and put my own twists on it.
> 
> Keep in mind that this is set when Allura hated Keith for being Galran.

“We’ve been ambushed!” Lance heard Keith yell through the coms. Instead of there being a few Galran fighter jets, like the paladins expected, there were hundreds of small fighter jets and a large Galran cruiser.

Dodging between beams and taking out as many ships as he could, Lance found himself unable to reduce the numbers of the enemy ships. Lance ignored the warnings splayed across the dashboard as he took out as many fighter jets as he could.

Power: 18%  
Weapon Strength: Low  
Shields: 8%

The unnerving screeches of the warnings blocked Lance from communicating with the rest of the team. Every now and then, he would hear a swear from someone or an explosion. Lance could only hope that the rest of the team was fine.

Swerving out of the way of the sharp wing of a Galran fighter jet, Lance grunted at the effort. Lance tried his Lion’s comm, knowing fully well it would drain power.

“Mission status, everyone.” Keith announced, voice cracking at the end of his sentence.

“Dying. So I’d say not very good,” Pidge answered curtly. Exhausted as she was, Pidge was fighting for her life.

“I second that,” Hunk added. Tuning out the background noise, Lance fired his fire beams at every Galran ship he could see. That’s when Lance noticed the Black and Blue Lion were missing.

“Keith! Allura! Where are you guys!?” Lance yelled into the comms.

“I saw them both fly into the big cruiser. I think they’re both gonna go and try and destroy the command center for these attacks,” Hunk replied.

Lance let himself take a breather, knowing that Keith would definitely take care of things.

“Paladins of Voltron…” A feminine croak rang through the coms.

“Haggar!? How did you get on the line!?” Pidge demanded. Lance expected some sort of retort from Keith, but the line was surprisingly silent.

“I just have a message for the new Red Paladin,” Haggar explained, unnervingly calm.

“Get on with it then!” Lance growled. Lance willed Keith or Allura to say something, but no answer from either paladin came.

“Red Paladin, I have taken your loved one hostage. If you and Team Voltron turn back and leave, they will find their way back to you.” Haggar threatened.

“Allura!” Pidge yelled in anger. “Give Allura back, you witch!”

Lance was ready to say something to Pidge, but Haggar spoke first. “Team Voltron is to leave before I return anyone…”

Then the line went silent.

“Lance, you need to go get Allura. Who knows what Haggar might do to her?” Pidge sounded anxious over the coms. “We can handle things here.”

Pidge was in no way teasing Lance this time. She was only concerned for Allura’s safety, but Lance couldn’t help but feel like he should correct the mistake that everyone seemed to be making.

Ignoring the prickle of guilt, Lance spoke his affirmation and diverted all of Red’s remaining power to the engines.

“I’m coming, guys!” Lance screamed into the coms, hoping someone would hear him.

Lance diverted all of his remaining power to the engines; his mind already making up worst-case scenarios of what could be happening.

Firing Red’s beam at an unprotected part of the Galran cruiser, Lance blasted a hole in the ship. Flying Red into the newly made entrance, Lance landed Red as safely as he could.

Lance practically jumped out of the cockpit, terrified about what could happen if he was too late. Lance was fully aware that this had to have been a trap, but he had no choice but to head right into it. If he didn’t, someone might get hurt or even killed.

Sprinting down the long halls, Lance held his bayard tightly in his grip, forming a sword with it. He fought with every sentry and guard he saw, blinded by the pure rage of Haggar’s threat.

At the end of the hall, there were two large doors sealed shut with a dull yellow glow slipping out from the bottom. The yellow glow made Lance’s skin tingle, making him suspicious of the room. He thrust his blade in the middle of the doors and pushed it to the side. Prying the door open forcefully, Lance pushed through the gap.

In the room were clear pillars filled with quintessence. The room was littered with different vials and bottles filled with quintessence. The shelves that covered the room were filled with vials of all different sizes. As Lance entered the room in awe, the doors behind him snapped shut again. Lance whirled around at the sudden sound.

Suddenly, Lance’s helmet communicator crackled to life. Allura’s voice was forceful as she attempted to communicate.

“Lance, this is Allura. You can return back to the Castle. I was able to escape and have returned to the Castle. I’ve brought both of the Lions back as well. There’s no reason why you should be there any longer. Return back to the Castle immediately!”

But Lance paid the order no mind. Just because Allura had returned safely didn’t mean there was no reason for him to stay on the enemy ship. Not that he wasn’t glad the princess was okay, which he definitely was, but Keith was still in danger.

If anything, Haggar’s threat still stood.

Keith was still in danger and no one in the Castle seemed to care. But Lance did. Lance would care for Keith, even if no one else did. There was no way he was going to leave Keith to die.

Lance ran through the quintessence-filled room, frantically searching for any sign of Keith. Shattered glass and cracked containers littered the floor. Lance realized that Keith may have gone through that room.

Lance’s terror practically doubled at the thought of Keith fighting an enemy too strong for him to handle. Keith didn’t know when to quit, so Lance knew that Keith would only stop fighting when he was killed.

That’s when a pained groan caught Lance’s undivided attention. Lance ran over to the source of the sound and what he saw next made his blood run cold.

Keith was lying on his back, blood pooling around his body. Keith’s hand was pressed against his abdomen, unsuccessfully trying to stop the flow of blood. He was breathing heavily, fighting for every breath he took.

“KEITH!” Lance was instantly at Keith’s side, kneeling next to him. “Keith, what happened!?”

Keith turned his head and looked incredulously at Lance. His eyebrows furrowed, looking angry.

“Why are you here? You need to–” Keith hacked up blood. “You need to get out of here!”

“There’s no way in hell I’m leaving you here!” Lance’s eyes welled up with tears. Seeing Keith so helpless broke his heart.

“Lance…” Keith gasped for air. “I’m as good as dead. Go back to the Castle. Go back to Allura. I–”

“Keith! Stop talking like that! I’m here for you and I’m not going to let you die!” Lance let his tears fall, his vision blurring until he could only just make out Keith’s face.

“I made sure to get Allura out safely.” Keith went on, as if Lance said nothing. “I made sure that she was safe. For you.”

“I don’t care! If you’re not there with me, then what’s the fucking point!?” Lance hooked an arm under Keith’s knees and the other behind his back. Lance hoisted Keith up, now completely carrying him.

“Lance…” Keith’s voice was no more than a whisper. “Stop. It’s not worth your time.”

“It’s worth my time if I say so, Keith!” Lance yelled at Keith, wanting him to stop putting himself down. “You’re worth every second.”

“Before I die, I just want to say that I lov–” Keith started to speak in a raspy voice, but Lance wouldn’t listen.

“Don’t you fucking dare finish that sentence! Tell me when you’re healthy and blushing! Tell me after we’ve just fought or tell me on accident during an argument! But don’t you dare say it when you’re on the edge of death! Don’t you fucking dare!” Lance let out a choked up sob, running out of steam halfway through.

Keith smiled faintly after Lance stopped talking. “I’m glad you feel the same, sharpshooter…”

Keith went limp.

_~~~~~~~~~~~_

Lance carried Keith’s lifeless body to the Red Lion, contacting the other paladins while running through the Galran cruiser.

“Guys, I got Keith and he’s severely injured! As soon as I’m out of the cruiser, we’re getting out of here. We have to get back to the Castle and get Keith into a healing pod!” Lance panted, catching his breath when he got to the Red Lion.

Red seemed to notice her paladin’s distress, as well as her former paladin’s condition. Red allowed Lance easy access to the cockpit so he could rush back to the Castle. Lance sat down in the pilot’s seat, laying Keith across his lap. He powered Red up and flew them out of the cruiser.

“Okay guys, I’m out! We gotta leave now!” Lance grunted into the comms.

“Roger that, buddy!” Hunk responded.

During the entire trip back to the Castle, Lance’s hand never left Keith’s.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Lance wanted to rush Keith into a healing pod, not waiting for Coran or any of the other paladins to ask what had happened. Before Lance could do anything though, Coran took Keith from him to check his vitals and perform careful medical procedures before putting him in a healing pod.

After being parted with Keith, Lance walked aimlessly to the kitchen. There, the rest of the team waited impatiently. Seeing Lance walk through the kitchen doors, all the paladins overwhelmed him with questions. Realizing they were making Lance distressed, Shiro asked everyone to speak calmly and in an orderly fashion. The first to ask anything was Pidge.

“Lance, what happened to Keith!?” Lance almost laughed at Pidge’s question. That was exactly what he had wanted to know. Instead of getting an answer from Keith, all Lance got was half a confession and a lifetime’s worth of guilt.

Lance shook his head silently, making Pidge go silent. They all stood in silence until Shiro broke the silence.

“Okay… Today’s been a long day. How about we get a good night’s rest and check on Keith tomorrow?” Shiro had a fake smile on his face, but Lance could tell that the older man wouldn’t sleep a wink until he knew Keith was okay.

The rest of the team seemed to agree and they left to go to their rooms. Everyone left until Lance and Shiro were alone.

“Hey Shiro… I just want to apologize.” Lance kept his head down as he spoke. Shiro looked at him at confusion.

“What are you sorry about? You did nothing wrong.” Shiro’s eyes were distant.

“It’s all my fault. If Keith hadn’t wanted to protect Allura for me, he wouldn’t be dying in a healing pod right now.” Lance felt himself about to cry again.

“It’s not your fault, Lance. And Keith isn’t dying in a healing pod. He’s not dying…” Shiro seemed to be saying the last sentence to himself more than to Lance.

“Get a good night’s sleep, Shiro. Keith needs you to be well rested for when he gets out of the pod,” Lance advised. Shiro placed a hand on Lance shoulder.

“You get some sleep too, Lance. I’m sure you don’t want to miss Keith coming out of the pod.” Shiro smiled softly. Lance returned the smile and went to his room.

Neither of them slept a wink that night.

~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a week since Keith was put into the healing pod. Lance was there, waiting every day for Keith to be okay. There was never a moment Keith was alone. If Lance wasn’t there, Shiro was waiting. If not Shiro, it was Hunk.

In the middle of the night, Lance sat in a folding chair, catching himself from falling asleep every few minutes. It had been a week since Lance had gotten proper sleep. He abandoned his facial routine a few days ago.

Suddenly, the healing pod started blaring alarms. Warnings written in Altean were thrown across the screen. Lance jumped to his feet, panicking. He ran to get Coran, thinking only for Keith safety.

Lance bashed on Coran’s door, not caring if he woke anyone else up. Coran opened the door frantically.

“The healing pod’s got alarms and stuff written in Altean! I don’t know what’s happening!” Lance explained in a frenzied voice. Coran ran in the direction of the healing pod, Lance right behind him.

Coran tapped a few controls rapidly, Lance watching helplessly. A monitor that looked like a heart pulse monitor came up on a screen beside the pod. Keith’s pulse was devastatingly slow.

“Do something, Coran! His pulse is too slow!” Lance felt his knees buckle, threatening to give out.

“I’m doing everything I can, Lance!” Coran was stressed and Lance felt guilty for yelling at him.

No matter what Coran seemed to do, Keith’s pulse continued to slow.

Lance never noticed the other paladins rush into the room. He only realized they were there when he heard Shiro let out a choked noise. Lance didn’t bother to look back. He kept his eyes on Keith.

That’s when Keith’s heartbeat slowed further.

Lance placed his hands on the healing pod, silently begging for Keith to stay alive.

“Please, Keith… Please stay alive. I can’t do this without you. The team needs you. We need you. I need you, Keith. Come back to me, samurai.” Lance let his tears fall freely down his cheeks.

Keith’s heartbeat monitor started to pick up. The lines became faster and faster. Lance felt his face brighten as he watched Keith practically come back to life.

“Oh Keith… Thank god you’re gonna be okay…” Lance felt a weight lift off of his chest as he watched Keith’s heartbeat speed up.

Shiro let out a strangled sigh of relief from somewhere behind Lance. Lance could have sworn he heard someone mutter the words “Oh, thank God.”

Then it flattened into a straight line. A prolonged beep filled the room as Lance’s expression turned to one of horror. The noise rang in his ears as he watched the heart in monitor in terror.

“KEITH!” Lance let out a heart-wrenching scream. Lance fell to his knees, completely lost. Shiro had left the room, not wanting to see his brother’s lifeless body.

Pidge covered her mouth with both her hands, letting herself cry. Hunk wrapped Pidge in a hug, both of them crying into each other’s shoulders.

Allura was grief-stricken. She stared at the healing pod in horror. She quietly excused herself and left the room, likely to find Shiro.

Lance beat his fists against the healing pod, wanting to turn the clock back and save Keith from his untimely death.

“HE DOESN’T DESERVE THIS!” Lance yelled through violent sobs. “HE DESERVES SO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS!”

Lance repeatedly beat his fists against the healing pod, ignoring the pain in his hands. He could feel something trickle down his arms. Recognizing the metallic scent of blood, Lance couldn’t bring himself to care. Instead, he let the pain in his heart wash over. That’s when he realized the reality of the situation.

Keith was gone.

Keith was gone and he wasn’t going to come back. He would never see Keith’s smile ever again. They would never argue over the smallest things again or steal each other’s food. Lance would never get to talk to Keith ever again. They would never have another heart-to-heart ever again.

The universe had taken the one he had loved and he would never get him back.

No matter how much he begged for Keith to come back, he never would. That was it. Keith was gone, plain and simple. Except it was anything but simple. Lance wanted to talk to Keith one last time.

If he could speak to Keith one last time, Lance would tell him that he loved him more than anything else in the universe. But he would never get the chance to anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Again, this was inspired by SherbertLemon so give credit to them. The entire thing wasn't taken from the original, but I used some of it. The beginning is heavily inspired by the original, so if you enjoyed this, definitely go and check their work out! Link is at the top in the notes.


End file.
